VerpflichtungvsVerpflichtungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Verpflichtung” and “Verpflichtungen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,038
“Verpflichtung” frequency rank
#7,684
“Verpflichtungen” frequency rank
12722
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verpflichtung Verpflichtungen
Definition das, was getan werden muss, was von einem verlangt oder erwartet wird, die Pflicht Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Verpflichtung

Where the eye mixes Verpflichtung and Verpflichtungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. Verpflichtung runs 13 letters (CVCCCCVCCCVCC) against Verpflichtungen's 15 (CVCCCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
Verpflichtung
15 ch
Verpflichtungen

Visual trap between Verpflichtung and Verpflichtungen

A purely visual mix-up. Verpflichtung ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtʊŋ]) and Verpflichtungen ([fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtʊŋən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Verpflichtung” sits inside “Verpflichtungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verpflichtung is recorded at frequency rank #5,038, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtʊŋ]. Verpflichtungen is at rank #7,684, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtʊŋən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 12722, this pair ranks #1,962,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verpflichtung vs Verpflichtungen

Shared letters: cefghilnprtuv. Private to "Verpflichtung": -. Private to "Verpflichtungen": -.

"Verpflichtung" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVCC  ·  "Verpflichtungen" · 15 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verpflichtung ← evrpflichtung · veprflichtung · verfplichtung · verpfflichtung · verpfilchtung · verpflcihtung · verpflicchtung · verpflichhtung
  • Verpflichtungen ← evrpflichtungen · veprflichtungen · verfplichtungen · verpfflichtungen · verpfilchtungen · verpflcihtungen · verpflicchtungen · verpflichhtungen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Verpflichtung" and "Verpflichtungen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Verpflichtung" or "Verpflichtungen" show up more?
"Verpflichtung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,038 in our German list, against #7,684 for "Verpflichtungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Verpflichtung" and "Verpflichtungen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verpflichtung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verpflichtungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,962,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verpflichtung" and "Verpflichtungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verflechtungen vs Verpflichtungen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,962,442 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list